Control mechanism for the jacquard device of a rectilineal knitting machine



June 2, 1970 JEAN-MICHEL CHAPPEX 3,514,975

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR THE JACQUARD DEVICE OF A RECTILINEAL KNITTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 25, 1968 June 1979 JEAN-MICHEL CHAPPEX 3,514,975

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR THE JACQUARD DEVICE OF A RECTILINEAL KNITTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 25, 1968 June 2, 1970 JEAN'MICHEL CHAPPEX 3,514,975

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR THE JACQUARD DEVICE OF A RECTILINEAL KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 25. 1968 s Sheets-Sheet s a: X' 'H k. S r-A a g o I 7 g! 2F 51' 2 N Z 2 2 desired lam,

per/ad United States Patent O 3,514,975 CONTROL MECHANISM FOR THE JAC- QUARD DEVICE OF A RECTILINEAL KNITTING MACHINE Jean-Michel Chappex, 7 Route des Prairies, Monthey, Switzerland Filed Apr. 25, 1968, Ser. No. 723,992 Int. Cl. D04b 15/66 US. Cl. 66-75 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A high speed rectilineal knitting machine in which the Jacquard device is controlled by a mechanism adapted to translate rotary motion into oscillatory motion.

The present invention has for object a control mechanism for the Jacquard device of a rectilineal knitting ma chine.

A customary rectilineal knitting machine comprises two metallic plates, called needle beds, into which insert themselves the knitting needles each of which slides in a groove. A cam-holder carriage controls, through its earns, the lifting or the reverse motion of the needles in one or several definite positions, proper to the knitting operation. Simultaneously, said carriage feeds with yarn, through the agency of the yarn-guide device, the Working needles. At each end of a row of knitted stitches, either in the extreme right or extreme left parts of the carriage travel, a perforated band Jacquard device preselects, through the agency of pins, the needles to be put into operation upon the passage of the carriage. A head frame device performs-the displacement of one needle bed relative to the other for the so-called stitch transfer operations necessary for obtaining narrowings especially. Finally, a knitting traction device ensures the extraction of the knitting from the loom. This device is generally carried out by means of tractor rollers. A simple rack of hooks in each of the first stitches of the knitting in the course of manufacture may, as a result of its weight, fulfill the same role.

The control of the Jacquard device is generally effected in this type of machine by a set of cams. It has been observed that such a control is subject to certain failings and gives rise to a complicated and expensive construction. In such machines, the most satisfactory operating conditions are the following:

(1) The total path of the Jacquard device must be suf ficient to permit of the rotation of the Jacquard cylinder.

(2) The stroke zone for the preselective control of the needles must be equal to .4 inch at the end of the carriage travel.

(3) The more rapid the needle selection operation, the more may be reduced the idle periods of no load running of the carriage at each end of the machine as from the last needle.

The present invention aims at providing a control mechanism for the Jacquard device which permits the desired acceleration of the Jacquard device in the stroke zone of the above-mentioned .4 inch.

The said control mechanism is characterized by the fact that it comprises a crank keyed on a first rotary driving shaft, a second crank keyed on a second shaft adapted to communicate a to and fro movement to the perforated bands of the Jacquard device, and a rod connecting the two cranks in order to communicate an oscillating movement to the second shaft, the angle formed by the rod and the second crank at the high dead point being included between 5 and 45.

The accompanying drawing shows, by way of example, one embodiment of the object of the invention.

3,514,975 Patented June 2, 1970 ice FIG. 1 is an end view of the control mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a rear station with a rod for the displacement of the cardboard Jacquard cylinder.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the geometry of the movements of the mechanism of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram similar to FIG. 4, but relating to the station of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the law of the movements of said rear station.

The mechanism shown serves for the control of the Jacquard device of a rectilineal knitting machine of known type which has not been shown because it is not part of the invention. Said mechanism is mounted between a driving shaft H4 carried by a support S and a driven shaft H5 adapted to oscillate. The support S is fixed on one end of the frame B of the machine and the shaft H4 receives its rotary motion from a driving shaft H3, through the agency of helical gears K1, K2.

A crank I1 is keyed on the shaft H4 and is provided with a crank-pin J11 on which is mounted the end of a connecting rod J7 the other end of which is connected to a crank-pin J12 of a second crank J2 keyed on one end of the shaft H5.

The operation of this mechanism is as follows:

By rotating from 0 to 360 the shaft H4 drives the crank J1 with the rod J7 which communicates to the crank J2 an oscillating movement the amplitude of which is about 120. FIG. 4 shows the trajectory of the crankpin J12 of the crank J2.

Tests have shown that by choosing the length of the rod J7, its inclination a relative to the crank J2 at the high dead point (FIG. 4) as well as the radius of the cranks J1 and J2, one achieves for the Jacquard device the previously mentioned desired conditions of operation. The angle a will be included between 5 and 45 and will preferably be 31.5 or a smaller value, the connecting rod having a length so that the relation 11/17 is as great as possible taking the limit case J1J7 into consideration. In the present example J7 has a length of 2.48 inches and the radius of the crank J2 is of 1.15 inch, the radius of the crank J1 being of 0 .95 inch.

The connecting rod-crank mechanism described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 communicates to the Jacquard devices the to and fro movement with stopping periods through the agency of the rear relay shown in FIG. 3. This relay comprises a lever J4 with two arms, keyed on the shaft H5 and one arm of which carries a pin J14 on which is mounted the end of a connecting rod J15, the other arm being connected by a rod J8 to a second lever J5 keyed on a shaft H7 disposed symmetrically with shaft H5 relative to the needle beds F1, F2 of the knitting machine and serving for the control of the Jacquard devices for the selection of the needles of the needle support F2.

The other end of the rod J15 is connected to the shaft J16 of the Jacquard cardboards cylinder b serving for the selection of the needles of the needle bed F1.

The movements of the members of said rear relay from the oscillating shaft H5 are shown in FIG. 5. The amplitude of the oscillating motion of the shaft H5 thus corresponds to that of FIG. 4.

Taking as abscissae the angular displacements 0 to 21r of the crank J1 (FIG. 1) and as ordinates the-movements X of the Jacquard cylinder, X being a function of the angular speed of said crank (chosen constant), one obtains the curve represented in FIG. 6. This curve shows that between a crank angle of and 240, the cardboards cylinder remains practically stationary, that is to say in the extreme outer position of the to and fro movement. One thus observes that the described connecting rod-crank control device permits of obtaining the desired idle period for the selection of the needles and this at any speed of rotation of the shaft H4 with its crank J 1.

The advantage of this mechanism is that it permits control of the accelerated movement of the Jacquard devices in the zone of said .4 inch without the disadvantages encountered up to now with cam mechanisms. As a matter of fact, the mechanism described does not comprise recall springs capable of slackening. Moreover, this mechanism is of extreme simplicity and has the following remarkable characteristics By varying the length of the connecting rod in a small proportion, the angle a will greatly vary and cause an important variation of the said desired idle period, the general course of the curve according to FIG. 6 remaining approximately the same with an equal path of 1.4 inch, but with the following modified values:

Desired idle rzeiriod ing two angularly intersecting inclined needle beds for knitting needles, a carriage supporting the control cams of the machine acting on said needles, a Jacquard device with perforated bands for the preselection of said needles which are fed into the working position up movement of the carriage, and a control mechanism mounted at the front end of the joint formed at the intersection of said needle =beds, above the frame of the machine, said mechanism comprising a rotary driving shaft and an oscillatory driven shaft for the control of the Jacquard device, a crank keyed on the front end of said driving shaft, a second crank keyed on the front end of the driven shaft, a connecting rod connecting the two cranks in order to communicate an oscillatory movement to said driven shaft, a rear relay arrangeod at the rear end of the intersection of the needle beds, said relay comprising a two-armed lever keyed on the rear end of said driven shaft, and a con- 4 necting rod connected between one arm of said two-armed lever and the shaft of the Jacquard cardboard cylinder, the length of said connecting rod'being adjustable.

2. A machine according to claim 1 wherein the angle formed by said connecting rod and said second crank at the high dead point is between 5 and 45.

3. A machine according to claim '1, wherein said angle (at) is equal to 315, the radius of the first crank is .95 inch and the radius of the second crank is 1.15 inch, the length of the connecting rod being 2.48 in.

4. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the said angle (a) is equal to 21, the radius of the first crank is .95 in., the radius of the second crank 1.15 in. and the length of the connecting rod 2.6 in.

5. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the said angle (a) is equal to 11, the radius of the first crank is .95 in., the radius of the second crank 1.15 in. and the length of the connecting rod 2.68 inches.

OTHER REFERENCES Capellen, Seven Popular Types of Three Dimensional Drives, Product Engineering, June 20, 1960, pages 76-80.

Hain, tions, Product Engineering, Feb. 27, 1961, vol. 32, No. 9, pages 54-56.

Aronson, Design Details and Performance Character istics of Large-Oscillation Mechanisms, Machine Design, Nov. 10, 1960, vol. 32, No. 23, Pub. Penton Co.-,

9 Feeder Mechanisms-curvilinear Mo-' 

